scent
You may not be able to taste the sweetness, but you’ll certainly feel like you’re surrounded by chocolate, and without the calories too!
Sometimes it’s better not to know where nice things come from. That’s the lesson Japanese netizens learned last week when a TV show revealed a very unpleasant fact about why jasmine has its unique and fragrant scent.
In a segment of the variety show aptly called “it’s better that you don’t know,” the president of an “aroma school” in Tokyo revealed that the compound that gives jasmine its pleasant fragrance is also responsible for a very unwelcome smell familiar to us all.
Smells do funny things to our brains. They connect us to memories and moments in a way that something visual never could. Just as interestingly is the effect smells have on our moods. Have you noticed that smells like lavender and vanilla give you a calming effect while a smell like coffee or citrus will perk you right up?
Now, Japan has combined the excitement of receiving a letter with the power of different scents to create a world first in letter sending. This service is available for only a limited-time, so try it before the letters (and smells!) are gone with the wind.
Have a hankering for some yakiniku (grilled meat) but don’t have enough money? Just supplement your meal with scented air. That’s what one Japanese company is suggesting with their new Hana Yakiniku, or “Nose Grilled Meat” system. Just plug the specially-made scent cartridge into your smartphone, download the app and you’re on your way to a cheap and (questionably) satisfying meal.
Japan worships the bathroom. Heated seats, music players, and carefully calculated washing mechanisms to clean your behind are just a few of the bathroom luxuries that can be found here. Now there’s a new product on the market in Japan ensuring that the toilet paper will smell wonderful even if what it’s cleaning doesn’t.
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